The humiliated politician dropped his head into his hands and wept as he was sentenced

Some believe his sexting scandal came to light at a horrible time for Mrs Clinton – and was partly to blame for her presidential defeat.

The sentencing completed the sordid downfall of the New York Democrat, whose penchant for exchanging lewd messages and photos with young women online destroyed his career in Congress in 2011 and his bid for mayor of New York in 2013.

As he was sentenced by Judge Denise Cotes, the 53-year-old dropped his head into his hands and wept .

In shock and complete disbelief, Weiner – who was married to Clinton’s long-time personal aide Huma Abedin – sat in his seat for several minutes after the court was adjourned, continuing to cry.

As he pleaded guilty, Weiner admitted: “I have a sickness, but I do not have an excuse.”

He begged to be spared form prison on Monday, tearfully telling Judge Cotes that he was “a very sick man for a very long time”.

Weiner’s lawyers had argued in court papers that he was undergoing treatment

Weeping throughout his statement, Weiner called his crime a summary of his “rock bottom”.

FBI cops began to investigate Weiner’s contact with the high school student when their sexual exchanges came across his emails and were displayed on his laptop.

Prosecutors told the court that Weiner had sent the young girl porn, and got her to take her clothes off and touch herself on Skype.

Two days before Election Day, the FBI announced there was nothing new in the emails.

But Clinton has blamed Comey’s handling of the episode more than any other factor for her loss to Donald Trump. In a recent NBC interview, she called the FBI director’s intervention “the determining factor” in her defeat.